Thursday, June 27, 2013

Contrary
to popular belief, crime has not risen over the past decade. It has, in fact,
decreased substantially. And yet, at the same time, a mass incarceration
pandemic has swept the nation, and the U.S. now locks up more of its citizens
than any other country. This crisis spills over into the lives of everyone: the
incarcerated person’s family, the victims, the courts, the government, youth,
tax-paying citizens, you, me, us.
Whether you know someone who has been incarcerated or not, you are
undoubtedly affected in some way.

The “whys” and “hows” of this crisis, its rise over the
past 40 years, and the weight it bears on the shoulders of our generation is
detailed statistically, anecdotally, and graphically in the Justice Policy
Institute’s new book, IncarcerationGeneration(ISBN 978-0-9892928-0-1), released
hot off the presses this week. The book of
essays is a collaboration between JPI and the leading thinkers and activists in
the criminal justice field, covering the people most affected by the criminal
justice system such as youth, women, and the mentally ill, and aspects of the
broken system including specialty courts, policing, and drug policy.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is found in the
foreword, written by New York Times
Bestseller Michelle Alexander, author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarcerationin the Age of Colorblindess.” She describes her visit to a school where
she could almost taste the rage and pain of so many kids, all of whom knew
someone who had been incarcerated. She
goes on to say, “In that silence and in those cries lies a truth that we, as a
nation, have been unwilling to face.”

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Criminal
justice can get very technical, as I witnessed firsthand earlier this month at
the Community Reentry and Expungement Summit’s Ask the Chiefs panel
discussion. There are so many different
stages in the process of trial and incarceration, and it can be hard to
follow. It didn’t help that what was
supposed to be a “discussion” was more like a lecture.

The agencies
represented at the panel certainly do a lot to help the victims of the criminal
justice system’s shortcomings, but the central message of change was lost in
the heat of competition. With every new
question came a carefully chosen answer describing the agency’s achievements
and credentials.

The
fundamental problem was in the composure of the panelists, who were all so
distant from the audience and completely focused on advertising their agencies
and less on answering tough questions. I’m here at JPI because I want to ask those tough questions to break the
mold and make a difference. The
panelists were there to explain the way things are, but were unable to detail
how real change was to occur. Question
after question was dismissed and referred to an agent of one of the agencies
instead of providing a solution.

This frustrated me to say the least. But I’m learning that there is much
frustration in the work of criminal justice and reforming a broken system.

Friday, June 14, 2013

“Who are the people in your neighborhood?” and “Lady Bug Picnic” are songs that
I know from only one place: Sesame Street.They are songs my children, 8 and 10, know as well – more than 30 years
later.

To most of us 40-somethings and below, Sesame Street is synonymous with
childhood memories, friendships, sweet dreams and excitement. The show and its
creators have been great at delving into issues that help kids fit in, feel
comfortable and understand differences like physical challenges, differences in
family structure.

This week, Sesame
Street unveils yet another project to help us understand life through our
varied lenses: a 30-minute documentary on incarcerated parents highlighted on
CBS’ “Sunday Morning.” Wow! Using puppets, youth, and
personal stories, Sesame Workshop understood the lacking resources for children
of incarcerated parents and developed a film to help children cope and families
maintain a healthy environment.

“We were really struck by the lack of
resources,” said Sesame Workshop spokesperson on the need to createsuch a project.

Mixing
fiction with real life, the show will be distributed to therapists, schools,
prisons and service providers. It will not air on the actual show.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Last Friday was the end of my first week interning for the Justice Policy
Institute, but I didn’t spend it at my computer.I spent the day outside the office helping to
manage a press conference hosted by the Virginia Alliance Against Mass Incarceration, which then led to a rally.

The topic of concern: giving voting rights
back to formerly incarcerated people.That’s right: after doing time and serving their debt to society, some
people in Virginia and three other states, including Kentucky, Iowa, and
Florida, still do not automatically regain their voting rights or other civil
rights, such as the right to hold public office, the right to purchase
firearms, and the right to travel abroad.

An overwhelming 350,000 Virginians have had their voting
rights taken away as a result of committing a violent or nonviolent offense. Virginia
Gov. Robert McDonnell took a step in the right direction last Wednesday by
announcing a new policy allowing automatic rights restoration – but only to those
who committed non-violent offenses As a result, there will still be thousands of
Virginia residents who paid their dues, but still cannot automatically have
voting rights simply because the offense committed was categorized as violent.Instead, they must wait five years after their
release to apply to have their civil rights restored.

Faith-based communities streamed into the Virginia State
House Courtyard Bell Tower in central Richmond a week ago to support the cause
and hear faith leaders Reverends Mark A. Croston Sr., Darrell Keith White, Edward
Hailes Jr., and Emory Berry, Jr. speak on
behalf of the disenfranchised. They spoke powerfully, praising the governor
for his step in the right direction, but also urging him to go all the way by
allowing all formerly incarcerated peopleto
regain their voting rights instead of some.

Monday, June 3, 2013

By Walter FortsonHannah Gu, a chemical
engineering student at Princeton University, is looking forward to attending
medical school in the fall of 2014.But she has another passion that isn’t
typical of your average doctor-in-training: Lu is a volunteer tutor in New
Jersey youth state prisons. Under the Petey
Greene Prisoner Assistance Program at Princeton, Lu and other students travel to prisons weekly to assist
students in prison trying to earn a GED or college credits. “They’re kids who were
just kids, forced into this lifestyle, but they’re really great people. They’re
just like me!” said Lu, as she recounted her experience to Princeton alumni
interested in supporting a national expansion of the Petey Greene program.

Lu is also one of five
founding members of the student organization, SPEAR, which is an acronym for Students for Prison
Education and Reform. Through SPEAR, Princeton students and alumni are looking for
ways to start a Petey Greene chapter in as many colleges and universities as
possible across the United States.